Americans United - Massachusettshttps://www.au.org/tags/massachusetts
enRules Of The Road: Judge Says Bishops Can’t Drive Government Trafficking Policyhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/rules-of-the-road-judge-says-bishops-can%E2%80%99t-drive-government-trafficking
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">If you’re not willing to do what the job requires, you’re not likely to get it. End of story.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>In November, I wrote a <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/contracting-controversy-the-catholic-bishops-want-to-get-paid-%E2%80%93-even-though">blog post</a> about the Catholic bishops and their complaints after the church was denied a federal contract to assist victims of human trafficking. Today I’d like to report on an interesting sequel to that controversy.</p><p>In a nutshell, the story breaks down like this: In 2000, Congress passed a law designed to crack down on those who engage in the sex trafficking of people; the law also contained provisions providing services to victims of this crime.</p><p>The federal government searched for private contractors to help people who had been forced into this modern version of slavery. Because victims of trafficking are often raped or forced into prostitution, the government wanted to make sure that a full range of medical services was provided to them.</p><p>During the presidency of George W. Bush, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops received a large contract to assist trafficking victims, even though the church made it clear that it would provide no contraceptives or abortion referrals. Furthermore, the church was adamant that it would tell the more than 100 subcontractors it worked with (many of which were not Catholic groups) that they could not provide these services or referrals, either.</p><p>The American Civil Liberties Union sued in 2009, arguing that allowing a religious agency to run public policy according to its dogma violated the separation of church and state. As the case advanced in the courts, the Obama administration decided not to renew the church’s contract, asserting that tax money would only go to organizations willing to offer the comprehensive medical services.</p><p>The decision made a lot of sense. Victims of trafficking have already been traumatized and refusing to give them the full gamut of necessary medical services to ensure their health and well-being seemed like another form of assault.</p><p>The government’s decision sparked a howl of outrage from the bishops. They made the rather remarkable argument that the government’s failure to renew the contract was somehow a form of religious bigotry. In fact, the church lost the contract because it wasn’t willing to meet contract requirements. If you’re not willing to do what the job requires, you’re not likely to get it. End of story. (Nevertheless, Republicans in the House of Representatives <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/january-2012-church-state/people-events/house-republicans-side-with-bishops-in-flap">held a hearing</a> on the matter to play the “bias against Catholics” card.)</p><p>I’m pleased to say that a federal judge has rejected the church’s argument. <em>New York Times</em> editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal notes on his “Loyal Opposition” blog that last week U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns <a href="http://loyalopposition.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/the-meaning-of-religious-freedom/">ruled for the ACLU</a> in the case.</p><p>“To insist that the government respect the separation of church and state is not to discriminate against religion; indeed, it promotes a respect for religion by refusing to single out any creed for official favor at the expense of all others,” observed Stearns in the <em>American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts v. Sebelius</em> <a href="http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/usccb_decision.pdf">ruling</a>.</p><p>Elsewhere, Stearns wrote that the federal government violated separation of church and state “insofar as they delegated authority to a religious organization to impose religiously based restrictions on the expenditure of taxpayer funds, and there impliedly endorsed the religious beliefs of the USCCB and the Catholic Church.”</p><p>This ruling could have broad implications for a host of governmental matters, including the role of religiously affiliated employers in the health care reform.</p><p>At a minimum, it’s a welcome reminder that public policy must never be twisted to meet the dogma of any religious group.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/catholic-church">Catholic Church</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/massachusetts">Massachusetts</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/human-trafficking">human trafficking</a></span></div></div>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:50:22 +0000Rob Boston6945 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/rules-of-the-road-judge-says-bishops-can%E2%80%99t-drive-government-trafficking#commentsThe Bold And The Brave: Saluting Those Who Stand Up For The Church-State Wall https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-bold-and-the-brave-saluting-those-who-stand-up-for-the-church-state
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Over the years, many brave individuals have risked community backlash to stand up for separation of church and state.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>On Tuesday I flew to New England to speak to a humanist group in Worcester, Mass. It was a great event, and I pleased to see so many people venture out on a cold night to hear what I had to say.</p>
<p>As I surveyed the crowd from the podium, I spotted an old friend in the third row: Ellery Schempp.</p>
<p>That name may not mean much to some of our younger friends, but it should. Ellery was the plaintiff in a landmark <a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/02/robs-blog-2-10-11.pdf">school prayer case</a> that reached the Supreme Court. In <a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&amp;vol=374&amp;invol=203"><em>Abington School District v. Schempp</em></a>, handed down in 1963, the high court declared mandatory, school-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in the public schools unconstitutional.</p>
<p>As I talked with Ellery after my speech, I was reminded how important people like him have been in the history of church-state separation. Our freedoms would have remained just words on parchment if Ellery and others hadn’t gone to court to end injustices.</p>
<p>[caption id="attachment_3255" align="alignnone" width="491" caption="Rob Boston and Ellery Schempp"]<a href="http://blog.au.org/alpha/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Rob-Boston-and-Ellery-Schempp.jpg"></a>[/caption]</p>
<p>Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Ellery and his family fought in the courts for more than five years. When the Supreme Court released its decision on June 17, 1963, it was a lopsided 8-1 victory for the Schempps.</p>
<p>Activism like this often comes at a price. In Ellery’s case, he had to deal with a crass move by Abington High School’s principal, who disliked the case and actually wrote a letter to officials at Tufts University, where Ellery had been accepted, labeling him a troublemaker and urging them to deny him admission. (The pathetic ploy failed miserably. Ellery graduated from Tufts and went on to earn a Ph.D in physics from Brown University.)</p>
<p>Other plaintiffs in church-state cases have faced much worse. I was reminded of Joann Bell, a mother in Little Axe, Okla., who protested religious activity in her children’s public schools in 1981. Her home was <a href="http://blog.au.org/2008/11/25/hell-in-little-axe-an-oklahoma-moms-chilling-battle-with-religious-bigotry/">burned down</a> by an arsonist.</p>
<p>I was reminded of Jim McCollum, whose mother Vashti challenged in-school catechism classes in the late 1940s. Vashti was <a href="http://blog.au.org/2006/08/29/one_womans_figh/">fired</a> from her job, and Jim was assaulted in school after the lawsuit was filed.</p>
<p>I was reminded of Melinda Maddox, a plaintiff in an AU-sponsored lawsuit in Alabama against “Ten Commandments” judge Roy Moore. She returned home from her honeymoon to find that the windows of her house had been<a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2004/04/plucky-lindy.html"> shot out</a>.</p>
<p>Groups like Americans United do not have the power to come into a community and sue when there is a church-state violation unless we’re representing local people who are being negatively affected by the government’s actions. Over the years, many brave individuals have risked community backlash to stand up for separation of church and state. Our nation is a better, fairer place because of their activism.</p>
<p>Americans United members and supporters like you play an important role, too. You provide the funding that makes our work, including legal challenges, possible. You educate your communities about church-state separation. You organize and attend events and forums.</p>
<p>The Religious Right, of course, would rather that we don’t do any of these things. Its legal groups have even tired to deny us access to the courts on some occasions.</p>
<p>Attempts by would-be theocrats to shut us down are discouraging – but they will not succeed. As I looked over the crowd Tuesday night and as I chatted with Ellery afterwards, I was reminded that when people of different backgrounds, ages, faiths and philosophies work together to defend the church-state wall, great things are possible.</p>
<p>Ellery Schempp is living proof of that.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/02/robs-blog-2-10-11.pdf"><br /></a></p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religion-public-schools-and-universities">Religion in Public Schools and Universities</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/church-state-milestones">Church-State Milestones</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ellery-schempp">Ellery Schempp</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/inside-au">Inside AU</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/joann-bell">Joann Bell</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/massachusetts">Massachusetts</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/melinda-maddox">Melinda Maddox</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/prayer-public-schools">prayer in public schools</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religion-public-schools-and-universities">Religion in Public Schools and Universities</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/vashti-mccollum">Vashti McCollum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/worcester">worcester</a></span></div></div>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:13:15 +0000Rob Boston2162 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-bold-and-the-brave-saluting-those-who-stand-up-for-the-church-state#commentsBogus Bill In Boston: Religious Right Targets Mass. Public Schoolshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bogus-bill-in-boston-religious-right-targets-mass-public-schools
<a href="/about/people/bathija">Sandhya Bathija</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It's not often that Massachusetts falls under Americans United's microscope. But this week, the <a href="http://www.citizenlink.org/fpc/#MA">Massachusetts Family Institute</a> (MFI) has brought the New England state to our attention.</p>
<p>The group, a state affiliate of James Dobson's Focus on the Family, has succeeded in finding bipartisan sponsors for legislation that will "ensure the existing free speech rights of religious students" while they are in school.</p>
<p>The proposal, according to the <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2009/11/08/bill_stirs_debate_on_religion_scho ol/"><em>Boston Globe</em></a>, will require school districts to create policies to allow "a limited public forum and voluntary student expression of religious views at school events, graduation ceremonies, and in class assignments, and non-curricular school groups and activities." The bill was written by MFI public policy director <a href="//www.mafamily.org/corporate.php?item=about&amp;a=staff">Evelyn Reilly</a>.</p>
<p>It's nothing we haven't seen from the Religious Right before. In fact, it sounds strangely similar to a "Religious Viewpoint Antidiscrimination" measure that was passed by the Texas legislature in 2007.</p>
<p>According to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's <a href="http://governor.state.tx.us/priorities/families/stronger_families/religious_viewpoints_anti_discrimination_act/">Web site</a>, this law "does not expand religious expression in schools," but makes it so children are "not shielded from religious expression nor exposed solely to secularism in our schools." Perry, a Religious Right favorite, believes that mere "discussion does not lead to indoctrination; rather, it leads to open-mindedness and personal and educational betterment."</p>
<p>It's the same old song creationists have been singing for a long time. For years, it's been a Religious Right tactic to push for teaching the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution in an effort get religion into the science classroom. These "viewpoint anti-discrimination" bills are just another backdoor effort to do the same.</p>
<p>That's why Americans United warned against the Texas measure in 2007 and another similar bill that was vetoed by Gov. Brad Henry in Oklahoma in 2008. Henry <a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2009/03/class-warfare.html">said</a> the bill, if signed into law, could lead to "an explosion of costly and protracted litigation." But finding Henry's veto "totally bogus," State Rep. Sally Kern introduced a different version of the bill again in 2009. It failed again.</p>
<p>Six other states also introduced similar measures earlier this year, including Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky and Arizona.</p>
<p>"This is a concentrated movement to force public schools to create forums exclusively for religious speech," <a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2008/04/states-of-confus.html">said</a> AU State Legislative Counsel Dena Sher. "Students have a First Amendment right to voluntarily pray or read their Bibles in the public schools, but some people are using these bills to proselytize fellow students."</p>
<p>We already know that students can talk freely about their religion at school and participate in after-school religious activities, such as Bible study. But the <a href="http://blog.au.org/2009/06/01/pomp-and-circumvention-graduating-senior-had-no-right-to-substitute-sermon-for-speech-says-court/">courts</a> have always drawn a distinction when students are addressing a captive audience, such as at graduation, said Ronal Madnick, president of the Massachusetts chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.</p>
<p>"You can't do it where people have to be in attendance," Madnick told the <em>Globe</em>.</p>
<p>This proposed legislation specifically states that students should be free to express religious views at school events. That doesn't sound like the bill is trying to "ensure existing free speech rights" but rather expand them beyond current constitutional parameters.</p>
<p>Besides, we know it would be pointless to pass a bill that merely restates current law. Much more is at stake here, and knowing who's behind it all, we have a pretty good idea just what that is.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religion-public-schools-and-universities">Religion in Public Schools and Universities</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/massachusetts">Massachusetts</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/massachusetts-family-institute">Massachusetts Family Institute</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-viewpoint-antidiscrimation-act">Religious Viewpoint Antidiscrimation Act</a></span></div></div>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:47:05 +0000Sandhya Bathija2402 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bogus-bill-in-boston-religious-right-targets-mass-public-schools#commentsLesson From Boston: Let's Not Exile Religious Dissenter Anne Hutchinson Againhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/lesson-from-boston-lets-not-exile-religious-dissenter-anne-hutchinson-again
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">We need to embrace Anne Hutchinson and what she stands for, not attempt to exile her once again.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>My family and I enjoyed a nice vacation last week in Boston and its environs. The weather was clear, and the days were full.</p>
<p>We spent some time at the beach, but like dads everywhere, I made sure to mix a little education in with our recreation. Thus, we trooped along Boston's celebrated "Freedom Trail" (in 96-degree heat!), visited Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord and spent a day in Salem.</p>
<p>The Salem trip was very interesting. This charming bayside town emphasizes its involvement in the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. To be honest, some of the attractions are a bit garish, but others are done with more taste. There is a memorial to the 20 victims that consists of a series of granite slabs, each inscribed with a victim's name. Its simplicity is moving.</p>
<p>It's important that we remember the victims of theocratic religious hysteria. And the Salem museums, despite their occasionally florid flourishes, ensure that will happen.</p>
<p>The victims of the Salem hysteria are remembered today, but others who succumbed to the Puritans' religious fanaticism are not as well known – and efforts are under way to sweep them under the rug.</p>
<p>Consider the case of Anne Hutchinson. Hutchinson was an early religious dissenter. She challenged Puritan orthodoxy by holding "illegal" religious meetings in her home. Expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, she settled in Rhode Island for a time before moving on to New York. There she was killed during a violent conflict with Native Americans.</p>
<p>It's important that we keep the memory of Hutchinson and those like her alive because there are forces out there that want us to forget. In Texas, a fundamentalist faction on the state school board has brought in three "experts" to add a generous dose of Religious Right revisionist history to the state's social studies standards. The trio has recommended that the standards omit references to Hutchinson.</p>
<p>One of the three, Massachusetts minister Peter Marshall, says Hutchinson is not a <a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/churchstate/1726/texas_board_of_education_wants_to_change_history/">prominent enough</a> colonial leader to warrant special study. (Marshall, who heads up a "Christian nation" outfit and has no degree in history, goes so far as to assert that Hutchinson's main accomplishment was "getting herself exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for making trouble.")</p>
<p>These three could not be more wrong.</p>
<p>As the state of Massachusetts <a href="http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=mg2terminal&amp;L=6&amp;L0=Home&amp;L1=State+Government&amp;L2=About+Massachusetts&amp;L3=Interactive+State+House&amp;L4=Inside+the+State+House&amp;L5=Statues+in+Bronze&amp;sid=massgov2&amp;b=terminalcontent&amp;f=interactive_statehouse_statue_hutchinson&amp;csid=massgov2">observes</a> on a Web site, "More than perhaps any other colonial woman, Anne Hutchinson paved the way for religious liberty, and America's constitutional division of church and state." (Gee, maybe that's why the right wing wants us to forget about her!)</p>
<p>Students need to learn about Hutchinson. They need to learn about her brother-in-law, John Wheelwright, who was also expelled from the colony for preaching "heresy." They need to learn about Mary Dyer, one of several Quakers hanged on Boston Common in 1660 for no other reason than her religion. And yes, they need to learn about the victims of Salem's hysteria.</p>
<p>I'd like to see an entire unit on religious liberty in social studies courses – how we got it and what it means. Figures like Hutchinson, Wheelwright, Dyer, Roger Williams and the clergy who opposed state-established churches during the time of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison would feature prominently in that instruction. We can't expect young people to appreciate the rights we have today if they have no idea how we got them.</p>
<p>We need to embrace Anne Hutchinson and what she stands for, not attempt to exile her once again. If you live in Texas, I urge you to speak out against this travesty. You can submit online comments <a href="http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/socialstudiesTEKS.html">here</a>.</p>
<p>It has been said that those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it. One could also say that those who attempt to censor history become active agents in the fostering of ignorance.</p>
<p>In my view, that is a much worse fate.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religion-public-schools-and-universities">Religion in Public Schools and Universities</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/anne-hutchinson">Anne Hutchinson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/massachusetts">Massachusetts</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/peter-marshall">Peter Marshall</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/salem">salem</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/texas-board-education">Texas Board of Education</a></span></div></div>Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:15:41 +0000Rob Boston2011 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/lesson-from-boston-lets-not-exile-religious-dissenter-anne-hutchinson-again#commentsConfusion On The Cape: Government Has No Business 'Helping' Churcheshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/confusion-on-the-cape-government-has-no-business-helping-churches
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A free-speech zone, once created, cannot be limited to certain types of speech. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I'll be on vacation next week and am looking forward to it. We're going to Boston, one of my favorite cities and a place with something for everyone in my family.</p>
<p>My daughter loves the urban experience and shopping. Boston has plenty of swanky stores. My son is into science museums. Boston has a <a href="http://www.mos.org/">great one</a>. I'm fond of history, which Boston has in spades. My wife likes to get away from it all and to relax on the beach, and Boston is close to the shore.</p>
<p>We have lots of options for sand and surf, but I'll tell you one place we won't be going: Cape Cod. I have nothing against the good folks there, it's just that I don't feel like running a gantlet of religious proselytizers while I'm on vacation.</p>
<p>As the <em>Cape Cod Times</em> <a href="http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090813/NEWS/908130325">reported recently</a>, city officials in Falmouth have given four area churches permission to set up a "prayer station" in a city-owned parking lot that serves Old Silver Beach.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what the selectmen of Falmouth are thinking. As I told the <em>Times</em>, they may have opened quite a Pandora's box, and it's hard to say what might come flying out. A free-speech zone, once created, cannot be limited to certain types of speech.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are many other houses of worship and other groups that would appreciate the opportunity to push their respective beliefs in this public space. I don't see how they can be excluded now.</p>
<p>So who will demand a parking-lot booth next? The Unification Church? Scientologists? Followers of Lyndon LaRouche? Unhinged "birthers"? Individuals for the Better Treatment of Insects? I don't know. I just know I don't feel like dodging a bevy of them when I'm intent on relaxing.</p>
<p>Representatives of the local churches say they just want to be available to pray with people who want it. I'm sure they're sincere, but I do have to wonder how many people are struck with a sudden spiritual crisis on their way to the beach. The few that have that problem could probably find their way to a church.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090813/MEDIA0302/908139983/-1/NEWS01">video posted</a> online at the <em>Times</em> quotes one of the selectmen raising the old saw that the First Amendment is really about freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.</p>
<p>Actually, it guarantees both, but the town official misses the point. Yes, we enjoy freedom of religion. But that does not mean it's the job of government to help any religious organization spread its theology or proselytize people by granting them space on public property.</p>
<p>So we'll skip Cape Cod this year. Several friends have told me that Cape Ann, north of Salem (another town with an interesting church-state past) is lovely. That's where I'll point the rental car.</p>
<p>Enjoy next week. I know I will!</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/boston">Boston</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/cape-ann">Cape Ann</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/cape-cod">Cape Cod</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/falmouth">Falmouth</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/massachusetts">Massachusetts</a></span></div></div>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:03:36 +0000Rob Boston2009 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/confusion-on-the-cape-government-has-no-business-helping-churches#comments